Multi-media storage device

ABSTRACT

A device for storing media comprises at least one frame module having a support surface adapted for receiving media thereon, a peripheral ledge around the support surface for preventing the media on the support surface from sliding off therefrom. The frame module also has a support structure for allowing the frame module to support another frame module similar thereto in a stacked relationship, such that the device is modular and expandable. The device also includes a cover module for covering the support structure of an uppermost one of the frame modules. Labels each having respective reference indicia thereon are each adapted to be secured to a respective one of the media, with a reference list being provided to receive information relating to a content of each one of the media in relation to the reference indicia on the label secured thereto, whereby the media in the device are classified. The device is open along both sides thereof extending between end walls of the frame module such that media can be removed from or inserted in the device from two opposite sides.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a device for storing variousmedia and a classification system therefor.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] In this era of technology, media of all sorts are present inevery aspect of today's lifestyle. Whether it is for leisure or forwork, the amount of media handled daily by the typical person hasincreased impressively over the past few years. The format of the mediahas also taken a plurality of shapes. For instance, compact disks,videodisks, computer diskettes, are just a few examples of the mediabeing used daily.

[0005] Accordingly, plural storage devices, e.g. trays, have emerged toprovide ways to store the media. As changes and novelties often occur inthe media formats, it is frequent to have storage devices that are notideally suited to comply with the storing requirements of the media.Among familiar occurrences are oversized storage systems in the wait ofa person's media library to build up, a plurality of generally emptyadjacent storage devices for each medium, storage devices filled to anextent where it is quite hard to find a given medium. As an example of amore specific case, compact disk racks often have slots for receivingsingle compact disk casings. However, double compact disk casings do notfit in these slots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide astorage device that is versatile.

[0007] It is also an aim of the present invention to provide amulti-media storage device that is modular,

[0008] It is a further aim of the present invention to provide amulti-media storage device that has an indexing system to facilitate thefinding of a given medium stored in the device.

[0009] Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there isprovided a device for storing media, comprising;

[0010] a frame module having a support surface adapted for receivingmedia thereon, a peripheral ledge around said support surface forpreventing the media on said support surface from sliding off therefrom,said frame module having also a support structure for allowing saidframe module to receive thereon another frame module similar thereto ina stacked relationship, such that said device is expandable; and

[0011] a cover module for covering the support structure of an uppermostone of said frame modules.

[0012] Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provideda device for storing and classifying media, said device comprising:

[0013] a casing having a support surface adapted for receiving mediathereon;

[0014] labels each having respective reference indicia thereon and eachadapted for being secured to a respective one of the media; and

[0015] a reference list provided on said casing, said reference listbeing adapted to receive information thereon relating to a content ofeach one of the media in said casing in relation to said referenceindicia of said label secured thereto, whereby the media in said deviceare classified.

[0016] Further in accordance with the present invention, there isprovided a device for storing media, comprising:

[0017] a frame module having a support surface adapted for receivingmedia thereon and having end walls, and a cover module disposed on topof said end walls and at a distance from said support surface such thatmedia is received between said support surface and said cover module,said device being open along both sides thereof extending between saidend walls such that media can be removed from or inserted in said devicefrom two opposite sides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Having thus generally described the nature of the invention,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by wayof illustration a preferred embodiment thereof and in which:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a partly exploded view of a storage device in accordancewith the present invention having two storage trays;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a storage device of the presentinvention that has one storage tray shown here with media storedtherein;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the device of FIG. 2 but without acover thereof for illustration purposes;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a vertical transversal cross-sectional view illustratinga medium being removed from the storage device;

[0023]FIG. 5 is a vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view,fragmented, of the storage device having multiple trays; and

[0024]FIGS. 4A and 5A are similar to FIGS. 4 and 5, hut show a variantof the storage device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 1, a multimedia storage device inaccordance with the present invention is generally shown at 10. Thestorage device 10 consists essentially of at least one frame module 12and one cover module 14. As will be described in detail hereinafter, thenumber of frame modules 12 in the storage device 10 depends on thenumber of storage levels or trays desired by a user. On the other hand,the storage device 10 always has one cover module 14, notwithstandingthe number of frame modules 12. Therefore, the storage device 10 mayexpand with a person's media library.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the storage device 10 has two framemodules 12 that are identical. Each frame module 12 has a base 20 and apair of end structural walls 36, The base 20 is formed by a rectangularpanel 22 with lateral edge walls 24 disposed perpendicularly on lateralside edges of the panel 22. The base 20 further has end edge walls 26 onend edges of the panel 22. The lateral edge walls 24 and the end edgewalls 26 form an upper peripheral ledge 28 projecting perpendicularlyfrom a top surface 30 of the panel 22, and a lower peripheral ledge 32projecting perpendicularly from a bottom surface 34 of the panel 22. Thestructural walls 36 extend upwardly from the upper surface 30 of thepanel 22. The structural walls 36 are received in abutment against aportion of the lateral edge walls 24 and are spaced from the end edgewalls 26, such that channels 38 are defined therebetween. Four slots 39are formed in the upper peripheral ledge 28 (three of which are visiblein FIG. 1) such that the channels 38 extend from side-to-side of thebase 20. The structural walls 36 are parallel one to another and aregenerally perpendicular to the panel 22, Four slots 37 (two of which arevisible in FIG. 1) are symmetrically formed in the lower peripheralledge 32 and are positioned similarly to the position of the slots 39 inthe upper peripheral ledge 28, i.e. vertically opposite thereto.

[0027] The cover module 14 is like a frame module 12 without thestructural walls 36. Therefore, the cover module has arectangular-shaped panel 42, with lateral edge walls 44 and end edgewalls 46 forming an upper peripheral ledge 48 perpendicular to a topsurface 50 of the panel 42, and a lower peripheral ledge 52perpendicular to a bottom surface 54 of the panel 22. It is pointed outthat, as the cover module 40 does not have structural walls, the covermodule 14 does not have channels similar to the channels 38 of the framemodule 12. However, the cover module 14 has four slots 59 therein (twoof which are visible) equivalent to the slots 39 of the frame module 12.Similarly to the slots 39 of the frame module 12, the slots 59 of thecover module 14 are defined in the lateral edge walls 44. The covermodule 14 could also be made identical to the base 20, i.e. also withslots on both sides of its panel 42,

[0028] Now that the physical configurations of the frame modules 12 andthe cover module 14 of the storage device 10 have been described indetail, the assembly for functional use of the storage device 10 willnow be described. FIGS. 1 and 5 illustrate a storage device 10 assembledfrom two frame modules 12 and a cover module 14. For clarity purposes, afirst one (i.e. the lower one) of the frame modules 12 of FIG. 1 will beidentified as “A” and another one (i.e. the upper one) will beidentified as “B”. Therefore, letters “A” and “B” will be affixed to thereference numerals in the description. For instance, the frame module12A will designate the frame module 12 identified by “A” in FIG. 1. Theframe module 12B is positioned on top of the frame module 12A, whichrests on a floor F, by upper free ends of the structural walls 36A beingnested in a corresponding shape defined by the lower peripheral ledge32B and the bottom surface 34B.

[0029] The cover module 14 is positioned on the frame module 12B in asimilar fashion. Free ends of the structural walls 36B will be nested ina corresponding shape defined by the lower peripheral ledge 52 and thebottom surface 54 of the cover module 14. The cover module 14 is shownat 14′ in broken lines in FIG. 1 to illustrate how it is disposed on theframe module 12B (see arrows 70). Therefore, the storage device 10 hastwo levels or trays of media storage, i.e. one for the upper surface 30of each frame module 12, along with a level of storage for other itemson the upper surface 54 of the cover module 14.

[0030]FIG. 2 illustrates a storage device 10′ having a single storagelevel, but with various items J (compact disk circular magazines, pens,diskette boxes, etc.) stored on the upper surface 54 of the cover module14 and restrained from falling by the upper peripheral ledge 48. It isobvious that the storage device 10 may consist of one, two or more thantwo frame modules 12.

[0031] Returning to FIG. 1, a panel 66 is shown being slid into thechannels 38 of the frame module 12B of the storage device 10. The panels66 are sized so as to be slidably received in the slots 59 of the covermodule 14 at the same time, Accordingly, the panels 66 are co-planaragainst outer surfaces of the structural walls 36B. Although not shown,the channels 38 of the frame module 12A may also receive such panels 66therein, with atop portion of the panels 66 being slidably received inout that other suitable ways may be used to removably secure the panels66 to the structural walls 3A, such as fasteners like Velcro™, magnets,etc. The panels 66, as will be explained hereinafter, will be used todisplay the media contents of the various levels or trays of the storagedevice 10.

[0032] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a storage device 10 having onestorage level or tray is shown storing various media conventional singlecompact-disk casings are shown at CD1, casings having two or morecompact disks are shown at CD2, and typical compact disk collectionbox-sets are shown at CD3. Video-disk and CD-ROM casings are also shownstored in the storage device 10 and are illustrated by DVD. The aboveenumerated media are upstanding in the storage 10, and are sized so asto be kept in the storage device 10 by abutting laterally against theupper peripheral ledge 28 which extends on both sides of the framemodule 12.

[0033] On the other hand, media of smaller dimensions than theabove-mentioned media may also be stored in the storage device 10. Forinstance, audiocassettes in their casings, which are generallyillustrated at T as best shown in FIG. 3, are positioned upstanding inthe frame module 12 of the storage device 10, and are paired up inside-by-side relationship so as to be immobilized laterally by the upperperipheral ledge 28 of the storage device 10. Similarly, as also bestshown in FIG. 3, computer diskettes H are immobilized laterally in thestorage device 10 by having a diskette box G filling an empty spacecaused by the width of the diskettes H with respect to the width of theframe module 12. Other media (not shown) can also be received in thedevice 10, such as compact disks in their flexible cardboard orcellophane sleeves.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a classification system is illustratedfor keeping track of what is stored in the storage device 10. Labels 60(see FIG. 4) are provided in order to identify the media in the storagedevice 10. The labels 60 may be of various types, but preferably have atab portion 62 having an identification character, such one or manyletters, or a numeral as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The tab portions 62extend outwardly from the media so as to be visible when the media arestored in the storage device 10. It is also preferred to provide eachlabel 60 with an adhesive portion 64, whereby the labels 60 may be stuckto the media. It is preferable to have the labels 60 positioned atvarious heights on the various media in order to avoid visualinterference created by the label 60 of a first medium being too closeto the label 60 of an adjacent medium. The tab portions 62 may also betransparent (e.g. except at their identification characters) to help seetab portions 62 located behind a given tab portion 62.

[0035] The labels 60 are used in conjunction with the panel 66, which,as shown in FIG. 2, illustrates a chart with numerals thereoncorresponding to the numerals on the labels 60 and with user-addedinformation being provided on the chart or panel 66 opposite thenumerals thereof, the information associated with a given numeral beingindicative/descriptive of the media stored in the storage device 10 andbearing this given numeral on its label 60.

[0036] The panel 66 may have an ink-erasable surf ace such that thechart thereon may be hand-filled with the information concerning themedia corresponding to the numerals, and erased when changes in thestored contents of the storage device 10 occur. It may also be acomputer printout that is replaced and kept up-to-date. Although notshown in FIG. 1, each storage level of the storage device 10 has its ownpanel 66, which can be inserted at either end of the frame module 12. Itis also pointed that the panels 66 may be folded so as to have a greaterarea for information to be filled thereon.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 4, a single compact disk casing CD1 is shownbeing removed from the storage device 10 by a person P grasping the tabportion 62 of the label 60 and lifting it upwardly (see arrow 72) suchthat the casing CD1 is above the upper peripheral ledge 28 of the framemodule 12. The casing CD1 is then pulled outwardly (see arrow 74) of thestorage device 10 by its tab portion 62. These steps are repeated inorder to remove any other media from the storage device 10, and arereversed to put a medium back into the device 10.

[0038] As seen from the top view of FIG. 3, labels 60 may be provided onboth sides of the wider media such that there are labels 60 on eitherside of the storage device 10. This allows formats such as thecompact-disk casings CD1 to be removed from either side, On the otherhand, media only exposed on one side of the storage device 10 because oftheir small width are removed from one of the sides of the storagedevice 10, and labels 60 are positioned on these media in order tocomply with the side they are to be removed from. The fact that thestorage device 10 is open on both sides offers the advantage that thereis no need for a first medium to be displaced in order for a secondmedium to be pulled out of the storage device 10, as is the case with,for instance, the audiocassettes T. Also, it allows the device 10 to putup against a wall, or the like, on any of the two open sides thereofwhile allowing media to be removed therefrom through its unobstructedside, i.e. its side opposite the side located against the wall.

[0039] The storage device 10 may consist in a plurality of materials.For instance, various metals and woods may be used, in which case thestorage device 10 will be able to sustain the weight of various storinglevels. Plastics and various polymers may be used in serial productionof the storage devices 10 of the present invention and presentcharacteristics which comply with the use of the storage device 10.

[0040] The device 10 is thus modular as the number of levels or traysthereof can be modified by adding or removing frame modules 12 from itsstacked attitude. As the frame modules are exempt of partitions, thedevice 10 is versatile in being able to accommodate various articles ofvarious sizes in customized arrangements in the frame module 12.

[0041]FIGS. 4A and 5A illustrate a variant storage device 10′, whereineach storage module (two such modules being shown in FIG. 5A) isidentical and includes the base 20 and a cover module 14′ that arefixedly secured respectively at lower and upper ends of the structuralend walls 36. In the device 10, the cover module 14 is not fixed to thewalls 36. Therefore, in the storage device 10′, each module isstand-alone and can thus be used on its own, separately or in stackedrelationship.

[0042] In a further variant (not shown), the ends walls 36 could bedetachable from both the base 20 and the cover module 14/14′ so that thestorage device is more compact for packaging, or storage.

I claim:
 1. A device for storing media, comprising: a frame modulehaving a support surface adapted for receiving media thereon, aperipheral ledge around said support surface for preventing the media onsaid support surface from sliding off therefrom, said frame modulehaving also a support structure for allowing said frame module toreceive thereon another frame module similar thereto in a stackedrelationship, such that said device is expandable; and a cover modulefor covering the support structure of an uppermost one of said framemodules.
 2. A device for storing and classifying media, said devicecomprising; a casing having a support surface adapted for receivingmedia thereon; labels each having respective reference indicia thereonand each adapted for being secured to a respective one of the media; anda reference list provided on said casing, said reference list beingadapted to receive information thereon relating to a content of each oneof the media in said casing in relation to said reference indicia ofsaid label secured thereto, whereby the media in said device areclassified.
 3. A device for storing media, comprising: a frame modulehaving a support surface adapted for receiving media thereon and havingend walls, and a cover module disposed on top of said end walls and at adistance from said support surface such that media is received betweensaid support surface and said cover module, said device being open alongboth sides thereof extending between said end walls such that media canbe removed from or inserted in said device from two opposite sides.